Help, My Turtle Is On Fire!
by waltzing-thilda
Summary: A flux-powered punch was strong, so strong that had it reached its destination, Sinedd would be probably left brain dead. Or just regularly dead. / Chapter Three: Disappeared.
1. Middles

**HELP, MY TURTLE IS ON FIRE!**

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_~The middle of the road is where the white line is-_

_- and that's the worst place to drive.~_

_  
Robert Frost_

**Chapter One: **Middles.

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"Sinedd! Watch out on your left!"

Artegor's nervous scream echoed in his earpiece. Out of the tail of his eye he saw a blue lightning moving at an incredible speed, heading straight for him. So fast one could barely notice it. In a spilt of second Sinedd recognized the dreadlocks, amber eyes, saw the outstretched foot bolting through the field in his direction. He saw what was incoming.

A tackle that could break his ankle. _Again. _

That blasted bone had seemed to become everyone's favorite kicking spot lately. It haven't even fully healed from his last Netherball fiasco and judging from last two matches against the Rykers and the Cyclops nobody was going to cut him any slack, let alone give the ankle a chance recover anytime soon. Sometimes football felt just like it had been during his old days in the orphanage, just like on the streets of the capital of Akillian, where by the law of the asphalt jungle the weak and the wounded were quickly eliminated. Sinedd hated being stuck in the same situation again, especially receiving the worse end of the survival stick. After all, he was the one with the reputation of the hardened criminal of GF, fouling whenever and whoever he pleased, not the other way around.

And yet, had Rocket been more fierce with his attack Sinedd would probably be already on his knees, fists and mouth clenched so hard they would bleed, holding back a scream of agony. Instead, he automatically leaped over the midfielder (it seemed that growing up in a gutter had blessed him not only with fleas and bad manners, but also with street-rat reflexes), passed D'Jok's girlfriend and the other defender with ease and sent the ball spinning into the net- right between that redhead's hands.

Epic win.

One hand triumphantly raised in the air, he put on his best fake smile for the cameras hoping nobody had noticed the moment of hesitation when a blinding pain shoot through his ankle. It was barely half-time and the painkillers were already giving in. Not good.

"Good work Sinedd! One more goal and you'll score a hat-trick!"

He cringed at Artegor's words. This whole 'encouragement' and 'caring' stuff didn't suit his coach and it had 'Aarch' written all over it. And a _dreadful_ thing that was. Sinedd almost missed the old Artegor; _almost_ because the old Artegor was heartless son of a glitch who treated him like crap, didn't care about his well-being and was more of a pain in the ass than a coach. Still, he could deal with that, he knew what to expect from the man. Now this new, _improved _version of Artegor had made him wary and reminded him of _'bad men'_ touching you in _'wrong places'_ caretakers in the orphanage warned him about when he was still a little kid. Artegor Nexus might have never been that sane to begin with but now he was just plainly _creepy._

"Go for it Sinedd, you have da powah!"

Those stupid sunglasses and retro hairstyle also didn't improve the situation.

"Yeah, I'm just getting warmed up."

He turned away from the goal without sparing the beaten goalie a second glance. He would score against her with both legs tied, one hand fending off a giant xenon turkey, the other playing newest Starcraft game and walking his turtle in the meantime. To kick that poor what's-her-face ass six ways to Sunday was no achievement at all; to escape from Rocket's pathetic (yet dangerous) attempt at fouling was, on the other hand, absolutely sweet. Pleased with himself Sinedd headed for the midfield to get over with his playmaking part. He rarely went to the center of the pitch, never during the actual game. There was no need for that. If by some weird occurence he lost the ball he knew that it would eventually come back to him in a matter of seconds, as every Shadow passed to him, and _to him only_. That was the only strategy he would (could?) put up with and Artegor knew it.

Few meters from the penalty area, panting heavily, stood Rocket. His golden eyes, hidden by the mass of loose dreadlocks, were glimmering with anger, ugly scowl baring his upper teeth. A girl was standing behind him; worry has made her face look old and sad.

'_That could have been a horrible foul,' _thought Tia.

"That could have been a beautiful foul," said Sinedd as if he were talking about the weather, but Rocket could sense the mockery, feel it being rubbed in his face. No one else seemed to notice the brief glance they had exchanged. It had been quick, barely noticeable, irrelevant- it told Sinedd everything. He saw it in Rocket's eyes, behind those noble gold irises he saw that _it_ was still there.

Fury. Vengeance. _Netherball._

The problem with Rocket was that, although he theoretically had been freed from _la Cage_, he was, indeed, still trapped. Trapped between Rocket, the Midfielder and Rocket, the King of the Sphere. He was stuck in the middle, bouncing back and forth from one edge to another. No matter how desperately he tried to go back to his old, gentle self, there was no way he could stop his own violence, for the aggression was already in his heart, growing like a parasite, like a cancer threatening to strike at any moment. It was truly an untreatable sickness that would always be a part of him, no matter how hard he tried to hide it from Tia. The two of them used to be perfect together; him and her. They didn't use to hide things from each other. Now he would try his best to convince her that he was still the man she fell in love with and she would lie to herself every night believing that he indeed was back for good, pretending not to notice how he didn't hold her the way he used to. In turn he pretended not to hear her cry in the bathroom after he had made love to her. They had shared something beautiful and now it was no more. It hurt. And it was entirely Sinedd's fault.

Sinedd knew he was taking blame for Rocket's own weakness. And he was enjoying it, really. Rarely did anyone pay him so much attention. Rocket's accusations made him feel special, flattered; they made him laugh.

He could sense it in the air now, that strange aura of incoming punch-up. For a moment Sinedd was taken over by a bitter feeling of nostalgia. By the look of Rocket's eyes he could only imagine how badly the other wanted to hurt him. And it didn't take much imagination to see that Rocket wanted to do it _really, really_ badly. _'And that would be awesome actually,_' thought Sinedd, if they could just fight like a couple of animals in front of the entire Zaelion Galaxy, if they could simply tear each other apart. He liked beating shit up.

_Nah._

Rocket would never do that, not in front of his _parents_, in front of Aarch, in front of _her_. The midfielder was going to simply stand there trying to find a way to activate his laser beam eyes. After all he was supposed to be on his best behavior to make everyone think that the goody-two-shoes Rocket was back. Their approval was essential form him to start living a normal (boring) life again. In other words, he didn't have the guts anymore, unfortunately. Once again, he had a good reputation to uphold, relationships to patch-up, he had something precious to lose- unlike _some_ people.

As Sinedd passed the midfielder he raised his hand in a quick, seemingly unimportant gesture. Neither the cameras or the cybernetic referee had caught the moment when Sinedd shamelessly showed Rocket his middle finger with an unnaturally pleasant smile still plastered to his face like a mask. He had taken part in demolishing Rocket's perfect life and now all Rocket could do was to stand there and watch Sinedd laugh in his face. The extent of damage done to Rocket was just a guess for Sinedd but he was pretty sure it was big enough. Somebody's happiness was destroyed and it almost made him feel as if he were happy himself, it felt so good that for a moment he considered skipping another dose of painkillers he prepared for the other half of the game.

After a moment something moved behind him.

Sinedd's fake expression faded when he heard rushed steps approaching him. He had no need to look back to see what was happening. Shocked gasps of his Snow Kids buddies, Tia's panicked voice begging to stop, Artegor shouting at Sinedd not to do anything stupid and teleport the hell out of there.

The steps were getting closer; the energy field of the Breath was overwhelming-

I was a matter of few seconds and yet the time seemed to slow down. Sinedd closed his eyes and braced himself, collecting as much Smog as he could muster. His reflexes was sharp as that of an wild animal.

With a clenched fist raised he turned around facing the first strike.

And for once, he embraced it with genuine smile.

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**End.**

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A/N: Hello good people! First I'd like to say that english is not my native language so _pardon my french_ for all grammar and spelling mistakes. I intend to write a series of one-shots for the fanfic100 challenge, all concentrating on Sinedd and other random GF characters. It might take a while to complete this so bear with me please.  
And I don't own Galactik Football. My dog does, I'm just following orders. Really.


	2. 44 Songs

**HELP, MY TURTLE IS ON FIRE!**

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_~Life is one grand, sweet song, so start the music.~_

_Ronald Reagan_

**Chapter Two:** 44 Songs.

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**1. I Need Some Sleep**

The ball was caught right at the white line.

Ahito yawned and looked at the striker. He appeared to had lost even more weight and his complexion was pale with a grayish tone to it. Dark marks were circling around his eyes.

"You could really use a nap you know," smiled Ahito. "There's plenty of place in the goal, you can rest here if you like."

He kicked the ball to his brother and with a final yawn he fell to the ground, soundly asleep. The striker smirked at the sleeping form, forced a wry laugh and dashed after the ball. The only place he would rest in was his grave.

**2. Paranoid Android**

Murmuring to himself the robot-cook carefully added salt to the soup, hoping that this time it will satisfy Pirates tastes. He had to get on their good side- you never know when that wretched girl might come back.

**3. Sad But True**

"Well, after having crush on me it could have only gone downhill," joked Mei. "I know it's weird hearing this from me, but looks aren't everything. I bet she has a _wonderful personality_."

"I know, but still… Maybe he has some eye defect or something," tried D'Jok. "How can his taste be _so_ off? I mean, first Zoelin, now Yuki… who's next, Clamp?"

**4. Stray Dog Freedom**

"D'Jok! We're going home, it's getting dark! You too Micro-Ice," Maya called the boys. The sun was indeed about to set and with that the temperature would drop drastically in a matter of minutes. Most of the children had already left the playground.

"Yeah, run to your _mommy_ D'Jok, or the monsters will get you!"

"Shut up Sinedd! Or we won't play with you tomorrow!" young D'Jok yelled back. Nevertheless he looked nervously around, checking if something big and scary wasn't standing behind him. Then he grabbed Micro-Ice' hand and both boys headed to his mother.

"You're just jealous because I'm not afraid of the dark and can stay outside as long as I want to!" Sinedd shouted after them. Quickly the playground became deserted save for his scrawny figure sitting on the swing.

Sinedd tugged the zipper in his tatty coat. It was getting _very_ cold but he intended to stay here as long as he could withstand. This place was not scary. Not at all. The thought of going back to the Children's Home was, for it was where the _real_ monsters were dwelling.

**5. Wind In The Wires**

"Did you hear that?"

"Oh, it's probably the draught."

Harris couldn't help but shiver as he heard the familiar hiss again and saw a pair of green eyes staring at him in the darkness. When he looked again was nothing there. Was that just his imagination, or will Bleylock's hands always keep reaching to him, even from the grave?

**6. This Is Halloween**

"Listen everyone! I'd like to introduce you to your new teammate- Sinedd," said Artegor in a chirpy voice and pushed the new guy in front of them. Sinedd gazed at those alien, skull-like faces. I has finally occurred to him that maybe leaving Akillian wasn't such a great idea.

**7. Speed Demon**

Warren didn't even get the chance to blink before the net was blown away with another goal. Since when _heat_ traveled faster than _light_?

**8. Take It Like A Man**

"Come on Ahito, don't be childish," encouraged Simbai. "It will help you fight your sickness."

"Hell. No," growled Ahito, his eyes, wide and awake for once, locked on the jar of suppositories Simbai held firmly in her hand.

**9. ****2 + 2 = 5**

"Aarch are sure that you can assemble a team that will be able to play at the GFC level in such a short time? A team ready to compete against the most skilled players in the Galaxy? With so little training and experience?" asked Cally.

"Of course," smiled Aarch.

**10. Run Like Hell**

"B-Benneth?"

"Yeah?" he looked at Artie, who in turn had his eyes locked somewhere above Benneth's head.

"I've got a hypothetical question," he stuttered. "What would you do if you saw a giant mummified turkey with a snake head, scorpion tail, bear claws and laser beam cannons attached to its back standing right behind you?"

**11. Nothing Else Matters**

"Idiot, if you keep going like that the Smog will kill you!"

"So what!"

**12. Human Nature**

To see Rocket play that Netherball-thing came as a shock to Mark. He didn't expect his predecessor to be this close, to be still on Genesis.

He was definitely going to tell the others about this. No doubt about that. But first thing first, now was the time to make hay, for the sun still shone.

**13. We Suck Young Blood**

"Guys it's really nice of you to invite me over for a dinner," Sinedd smiled happily, not noticing the primal hunger that lurked in the eyes of his new teammates.

**14. Girl Gone Bad**

"Well second is not the best, is it honey? Don't you have any ambition? You have to try harder!" she could never forget her mother's hurtful words, no matter how _hard_ she tried. They had followed her everywhere, in bars, in cars. She always remembered them and vowed that when she would become a mother herself her own daughter would _never_ have to hear them, _never._

She carried the burden of those words her entire life just for her daughter's sake.

"Defender is not good enough Mei, you have to try harder!" In the end she has forgotten _why _it hurt, all that remained were those words.

**15. More Than A Feeling**

_I have a bad feeling about this_, thought Bleylock, seconds before his spacecraft exploded.

**16. Drop Dead Legs**

Sinedd glanced at her ass as she was fastening her boot . He knew that at some point Mei longed to be an attacker but he sure was grateful that she had decided to stay on this side of the pitch.

Mei gazed at his frame not noticing D'Jok waving to her form the far side of the pitch. _There are some advantages_, she thought, as having Sinedd on the opposite side actually meant having him on _her_ side.

** 17. Tell Me What You See**

"So, what do you see?"

"What do you mean?" asked Rocket looking at the glass of water.

"Well, _what_ do you see- is the glass half-full, or half-empty?" Rocket looked at her and then again at the glass.

"It's cracked."

**18. Kick Him When He's Down**

He looked at the big screens: the score was seven-two and only nineteen seconds to go. Stevens was more than pleased with himself. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Now just to add a cherry at the top of his whipped cream of triumph. He lightly kicked the ball to his opponent.

"Here, have a go," he encouraged the other striker mockingly and couldn't believe the guy actually tried to dribble despite that pathetic condition he was in. The Pirate laughed, wondering whether the striker was so stupid and so naïve that he didn't see the mockery behind this offering.

The laugh died in Stevens throat as he saw the sheer determination breaking through the anguish in Sinedd's eyes. In the most glorious moment of his life Stevens couldn't have felt more ashamed of himself.

**19. This Weather**

"This royally sucks," said Wuwamboo, shivering badly, after he and his team had landed on Akillian for the first time in fifteen years.

**20. Personal Jesus**

Artegor looked at Aarch knowing that he didn't deserve such a friend. He couldn't stop thinking about the time that was lost, time they had wasted because of him, time that no one could ever return to them.

Aarch looked back at Artegor and smiled. He couldn't stop thinking about the wonderful times they had ahead of them.

**21. Take It To The Limit**

His body screamed in agony as he released another mass of black energy. The Smog was slowly sucking the oxygen from his lungs, his blood, his heart. As he dashed to the goal none could notice how his legs trembled from exhaustion. He knew he was going too far this time; there was no other way to see how far he can actually go.

**22. Alone Together**

"I'd like to be left _alone_!" growled Yuki without sparing them a glance. Angry tears were already gathering her eyes.

"If you say so," said Thran as he and his brother sat down at both sides of their cousin. They've stayed like that till early morning.

**23. My Family's Role In The World Revolution**

On Duke Madox' desk stood a picture. A tall, slightly overweight man, a woman with brushy hair and a young boy with an eye patch, sitting in front of them in a wheelchair. They were all smiling, although the child was born as a cripple, unable to use most of his limbs as his body was consumed by a incurable disease. They were happy even without knowing that in few years the father's attempts to restore his son's health with self-crafted mechanical parts will revolutionize the world of modern technology and give birth to a new empire.

**24. Ghosts**

As a man of science, Clamp didn't believe in ghosts. But that didn't stop them from following him everywhere.

**25. Come Out And Play**

"Aw, come on D'Jok! We still have to finish it!"

"There's no way in hell I'm going to duel you. After the last scare you gave me I wouldn't even duel you in a children's card game!"

"Ok then, lets have a snowboard race!"

"No."

"Starring contest!"

"No, forget it. Stop being so obsessed about beating me! Can't you just get a life, find yourself a girlfriend for Christ's sake!"

"Is that the challenge?"

"… you stay away from Mei."

**26. Black and Blue**

Aarch could have sworn that for a brief moment he saw a spark of electric blue breaching through the black smoke. But surely it was impossible, right?

**27. Light Pollution**

Warren smiled to himself as he saw Rocket kick Sinedd in his chest, swiftly finishing their Netherball match. Serves him right, that selfish brat. That double-crosser. This is what you get for polluting such a beautiful sport like football. That's how trash should be dealt with.

**28. Supermassive Black Hole**

"So basically the true source of the Smog is a black hole, right?"

Nihlis nodded.

"A black hole that is situated close to the Shadow Archipelago?"

A nod.

"So you're living near a black hole that can swallow the entire Archipelago at any time and thus bring and an end to your civilization?"

Nihlis nodded again.

"Oh," said Sinedd. "Cool."

**29. Waste Of Paint**

Tia stared. The person in the mirror stared back. It definitely wasn't her, not her at all. She sighted and reached for a clean cloth to wipe her face. Then she carefully put back Mei's make-up kit and went back to bed.

**30. Me And My Monkey**

"Well if it isn't _the Jock_ and his monkey!"

"Shut up Sinedd, go find some real friends!" yelled D'Jok as he cradled Micro-Ice in his arms and gave him another banana.

**31. Eyes Were Blue**

"But it strange, don't you think? His eye used to be lilac, now they're all black."

"They were always blue to me," sighted Mei.

**32. Today Will Be The Day When Mourning Ends**

_Today_, he told himself, _will be the day when the mourning ends_. And it almost was the Day, if it weren't for the shame that he felt for still being alive while the others, so many others had died.

**33. Smoke Without Fire**

Rocket knew something was wrong even before he saw a massive cloud of black smoke slowly consuming the entire pitch. He was also the first to be by his side, holding the limp body in his arms. The Smog was getting thicker. He shook the unresponsive frame, he screamed inhaling the black flux. But despite Rocket's efforts, Sinedd did not open his eyes.

And then everything went pitch black.

**34. Learn To Be Still**

The urge to kick the ball out of the penalty area was almost impossible to fight. But Kernor knew better than to leave the goal unguarded and waited penitently for the ball to come to her. It always did.

**35. I've Got Your Number**

The fact that D'Jok was first of the team to claim a jersey, and a jersey number 9 it was, was not a coincidence. According to D'Jok nothing about him was a coincidence, he made sure of that.

The fact that the last jersey that was left for Sinedd to take had number 11 printed on it was also not a coincidence. It was a fore_shadow_.

**36. If Winter Ends**

"I'll come back for you when I become a star," were the last words Norata had heard his wife say before she left for the bigger, better world. He promised to himself that no matter what, he would go after her, he just had to help rebuild the planet first. After that, he will search for her. After he gets a job, he'll go to Genesis and find her. After Rocket gets a bit older, he'll go after her. After the flower business calms down a bit, he'll…

**37. House of Pain**

He had wandered into the far side of the city. This was the Old Town, the part of the capital that never got to be rebuilt after the Great Explosion. His mother had told him never to go there, for "people like us are not very welcome in the Old Town". But sometimes listening to what your mother says is not that easy, especially when you're a ten-year-old boy named Micro-Ice.

Across the street one meager tenement caught his eye. He'd heard of this place all right. Children lived here, lots of them. He was told that this house was full of children and personally he couldn't imagine a better place to live in, with so many kids around he would play all day long. And he wouldn't have to hang out with D'Jok's stupid friend Mark because there would be so many other kids to play with!

But what he saw didn't really meet his expectations: the house was ugly, nobody was playing any games and the noises coming from the building could have never been mistaken for laughter.

Micro-Ice decided that some really boring children must be living there.

**38. Somebody Get Me a Doctor**

_One stubbed toe, an acne, two pulled muscles, a diarrhea. _Simbai put down her patient's records and wondered when it was going to be her turn to be sick.

**39. Animal I Have Become**

"What you need human," Fulmugus said one day, "is a pet."

Sinedd looked dumbfounded at the box his captain had just given him. Then he looked dumbfounded at Fulmugus.

"A _box_?"

"You _open_ the box human," said Fulmugus patiently, " you look inside the box and what you will see there is your new pet. This is how the box works."

Sinedd didn't buy it. A house pet inside something so small? In no way could a bear fit in it, and neither could a pony. And since those two were the only pets he could think of, Sinedd was highly doubtful. Nevertheless, he opened the box.

"You gave me an _ashtray_?"

"I and the entire team concluded that a _turtle_ is a pet that would suit you perfectly."

"Why, because of its superior speed or fetching exterior?" snarled Sinedd, remembering the turtle as one of those species that went extinct on Akillian shortly after the beginning of the Ice Age.

"No," answered Fulmugus. "Due to its long lifespan you do not have to worry about the turtle dying on you anytime soon. And also," the captain smiled, " not unlike you, it lives in a shell."

**40. Is It Scary**

At the day of their second loss in the GFC finals and after the first wrinkle had appeared on his face was when Warren started to worry whether he would ever get the chance to hold the Cup again before his days as a footballer are finally over.

**41. My Secret Life Of Violence**

"What are thinking about?" asked Tia.

"Nothing," he lied not daring to look her in the eye.

**42. Knocking On Heavens Door**

He didn't feel pain anymore. He didn't feel anything at all. His mind was clean of any thought, clouded by the brilliant light. His body was weightless, not touching the ground. He could not feel it at all. He could not feel his body, was it even still here?

In the intense light he saw two figures floating above him. A silhouette of a woman and, much closer, a dark-haired man. He knew that man.

"Dad…?" whispered Sinedd.

"Close enough," said Artegor with relief. The kid woke up, he going to make it.

**43. Teenage Angst**

"Sometimes I really hate those brats, you know. The bimbo refused to play because she had broken her nail, the freaky afro guy with fish lips is always whining that nobody likes him and so does the ugly carrot-head girl, the midget always screws up, the other defender with goatee gets angsty about his brother's sickness, who on the other hand doesn't give a damn that he has a terminal disease, the dreadlocks is torn between being a great wuss or just a regular wuss, his girlfriend appears to have forgotten that she has nothing left to be emotional about and persists on getting more and more depressed. And the jock's just pissing me off. I mean, look at those hair!"

"Yeah, tell me about it. The emo kid almost blew up the entire universe last year."

**44. Everybody Wants To Be A Cat**

Green eyes followed their every movement. The Professor. The Pirate. The Traitor. He was watching them all, gathering information about their whereabouts, habits, weaknesses. About their close ones. Every bit of information transformed into columns of ones and zeros, millions of columns folding into one scheme. And all of this for the Master, for the Master always had the final laugh, even if it were to come from a metallic snout.

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**End.**

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A/N: This chapter was heavily inspired by **Gerkyhen's** _"22 short stories"_ and _"50 short stories"._ Go and read her fanfiction, support this truly creative author, not a thief like me xD

Thank you people for reviewing! Knowing my ungodly pace I'll probably update sometime around Easter holidays. GF doesn't belong to me, but if it did, I would have Yuki wear a paper bag to cover her face. And she would dump Micro-Ice for Clamp to breed fugly children.


	3. Disappeared

**HELP, MY TURTLE IS ON FIRE!**

**

* * *

**

_~Anger will never __disappear_

_so long as thoughts of resentment are cherished in the mind. _

_Anger will __disappear __just as soon as thoughts of resentment are forgotten.~_

_Gautama Siddharta_

**Chapter Three:** Disappeared.

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_/I was a matter of few seconds and yet the time seemed to slow down. Sinedd closed his eyes and braced himself, collecting as much Smog as he could muster. His reflexes were sharp as those of an wild animal. With a clenched fist raised he turned around facing the first strike. _

_And for once, he embraced it with genuine smile./_

_

* * *

_

Artegor froze, his disbelieving eyes plastered to the screen in front of him. There was no way in hell Rocket was going to do what he looked like he was about to do. Simply impossible. He leaned closer to the control panel, closing up the view of the center of the pitch and took off his glasses. With his vision no longer obscured he noticed Rocket's quick, steady pace, tense stature, blue flux emitting from his clenched fist…

'_He wouldn't do it_,' Artegor told himself. _'Rocket was a carbon copy his uncle. Aarch wouldn't harm fly-'_

_**Bloody hell. **_

The sudden realization fell on him like the Ace Age had fallen on Akillian. Adrenaline shoot through his veins faster than a xenonian rotgut would.

"Sinedd! Move out of there! You hear me?" he screamed to the mike. "Use the Smog! _Go!_ Teleport the hell out of there, Rocket's-"

Later he wouldn't believe how gullible he was sincerely believing that Sinedd would lower himself to listen to him, to use common sense and do the right thing for a change. As if they hadn't gone through this already; as if Artegor didn't know his protégé. That stupid brat wasn't going to teleport. He would never back down from a fight.

"You idiot, get away from there! Rocket's going to-"

* * *

He was going to punch his brains out.

The bright lights, the spectators, the entire pitch- everything slowly started melting into a colourless mass. Into the familiar gray walls he had missed so much. I felt just like home. Just like the Sphere.

Out of this bizarre metamorphosis of blurry surroundings he could make out one single figure. Black abomination against this discolouration, it's features were so sharp they were hurting his eyes. He could see every hair on its head, the outline of golden earrings, he could see the muscles moving with every breath.

Rocket couldn't stand the sight that Sinedd was. That loser, walking around proud as a damn peacock, as if he owned the whole place. As if he belonged there. Back on Akillian Rocket wouldn't even bother talking with such a piece of trash (not that his dad would ever allow him to socialize with the likes of Sinedd). _And now he was mocking him._ How dare he laugh at him, how dare he provoke him with crude gestures after all Rocket had been through because of that bastard.

Sinedd was like vermin, spreading disease wherever he slipped into. First were the Snow Kids, then the entire GFC Tournament, even Rocket's private life. He had spoiled Netherball with his presence and, because of him, Rocket had to hurt Tia. _His beautiful, delicate Tia_. If it hadn't been for Sinedd, Tia wouldn't have shed a tear. Because he had shown Rocket Netherball. But Netherball was no more. And it was Sinedd's fault the Sphere was destroyed. _His beautiful Sphere…_

That piece of shit just had it coming for a long time. And Rocket would have none of his arrogance anymore.

_(Think you're better than me, do you? Let's see how you smile after I wipe the pitch with your face.)_

It was time to once again show this lowlife where his place was; and it would be Rocket's pleasure to do so. Oh yes, he would enjoy giving his old friend Sinedd another lesson, just like when they've played (fought) against each other in the Sphere.

Rocket was now inches away from the striker. _This will be good_, he thought smiling to himself. He was already imagining the wonderful sensation that smashing his fist against Sinedd's head would be. _So good._ He could have sworn that for a moment he heard a familiar voice shouting his name, but the sound turned quickly into a rustle, and died. Everything went silent, save for the sound of his short breath.

Blue energy gathered in his palm, accelerating every movement.

He threw his hand in a skull-shattering punch at the back of Sinedd's head. After that strike, Sinedd would fall on the ground, a surprised scream escaping in his throat. Then silently struggling to get up, acting tough and still believing he can win despite all odds, Sinedd would fall again. Again and again; only his proud eyes betraying the torture he would be in. The crowd would go wild, chanting the name of the King. And then Rocket would be the one laughing.

His clenched fist cut the air like a thunder. Absolution in three, two, _one..._

Rocket's eyes widened in shock, not fully registering how in a split second, in a moment as brief as a butterfly trashing it's wings, Sinedd turned around and with a smog-overcastted hand, grabbed Rocket's fist.

And stopped it.

* * *

A lightning bolt of twisting neurons and shattered bones screaming in agony shot through his left arm, form his palm to the shoulder. A black-blue shock wave glided though the pitch forcing the other players to lose balance. The Smog might have been stronger than the Breath, but it had barely managed neutralize Rocket's attempted sneak-attack. A flux-powered punch was strong, so strong that had it reached its destination, Sinedd would be probably left brain dead. Or just regularly dead.

He wondered whether or not Rocket was aware of that. Either way, his heart started beating faster in a joyful anticipation. Excitement. This was wrong, he knew, the proper feeling should have been fear. But he was never very good at reacting properly. And even worse at picking his fights.

Rocket was slightly bigger than him.

Rocket was definitely physically stronger than him.

And at that moment, Rocket was a lot crazier than him.

But first and foremost, Rocket was a fucking _florist_.

The Snow Kid snarled at his fist being blocked and with his free hand he threw another punch. Sinedd, anticipating the move, ducked with ease and, still holding Rocket's hand captive, spun around his opponent, pushing Rocket's twisted arm to his back, screwing it close to the point of breaking it. He smiled cruelly at his opponent's discomfort and kicked hard at the inner side of the midfielder's knee, sending him to the ground. A muffled groan escaped Rocket's throat as Sinedd stomped viciously on his back with his stronger, right foot, locking him in a submissive position. He resembled a primal hunter towering over his kill- a carcass of a lion.

"Owned," said Sinedd, not caring if Rocket could hear him. His violet-violent eyes glimmered with malice, his smile held a promise of further abuse.

No matter how big and strong Rocket was, he had never fought in a real street-fight, his physical advantages were no match for Sinedd's experience. Bigger guys did not intimidate him, he knew how to fight and win against them. He had learned (_the hard way_, as he would reluctantly admit) how to withstand pain, where to strike to cause the maximum amount of suffering and which twist of joints is needed to make you opponent beg you to stop. That's right, good ol' Rocket was about to reach the top of Mount Humiliation right in front of the entire galaxy. Perfectly for mommy and daddy to see.

"Who's the bitch now, huh, Rock-" the taunt died in his throat as Rocket's free fist shot with vengeance straight upon Sinedd's injured ankle, sending a blinding pain through his body. He staggered, loosening the grip on Rocket's hand. That was the invitation Rocket needed to throw himself at Sinedd, who had already lost his balance and fell on the ground. It were seconds before somebody stepped in to stop the fight. The robot referee was ringing the alarm like crazy and in the corner of his eye he could see people getting closer. It would be over soon. And Rocket was not going to lose, he was winning this game.

Trapping Sinedd with his weigh he started punching. Like mad.

* * *

It only took D'Jok literary a second to realize what was happening. It took him even less to react and to start dashing to the other side of the pitch. And such a long way it was.

Two seconds. He felt his insides froze as he saw the leftover flux wash down through the field. Where the hell was the referee? Passing Mark he gave him a quick tap at the shoulder. Mark followed him. Thank god his friend was off the bench today; Micro-Ice would be utterly useless now. Five seconds.

He saw Rocket being forced on his knees. A small part of him was relieved that the actual aggressor had been restrained. A larger part of him was afraid what would Sinedd do next. He knew better than to trust Sinedd to control himself. That idiot's fights always ended ugly and even if it wasn't him who had started it, he made sure to be the one to finish it. Nine seconds, only 40 meters to go.

The midfielder somehow managed to overthrow Sinedd and pin him to the ground. The striker dodged every punch writhing underneath Rocket like the smug snake he was. D'Jok saw Thran grabbing Tia, stopping her from interfering the scuffle; he heard Mei and Nihlis shouting at Fulmugus to _do something for flux' sake! _

Twelve seconds.

Sinedd's headbutt broke Rocket's punching mantra and stunned the Snow Kid, giving the attacker a perfect opportunity for a role reversal. Sitting atop his opponent, Sinedd held Rocket's head still with one hand, the other risen in the air, preparing to give the final blow-

Sixteen seconds. Stop. _(this got to a new record or something) _

Two pairs of strong arms clasped around Sinedd's torso and jerked him roughly away from his prey, denying him the finishing touch. He was dragged few feet away from Rocket's laying form. Tia immediately ran to her lover's side, touching his face softly, checking for any damage.

"Now, now Sinedd, down boy," D'Jok mocked, tightening his grip.

Both him and Mark held Sinedd as firmly as they could, hoping to immobilize him for as long as possible, even though they knew that the moment Sinedd recovers from the brief shock he will teleport out of their grasp. What the redhead didn't see coming was Rocket's fist (accompanied by Tia's surprised cry) coruscating with electric-blue bolts, heading straight for them.

Amethyst eyes shot open and locked with a pair gold irises. As the blue bolt collided with Sinedd's ribcage a black-clad foot smashed right against Rocket's face (_what you get is what you give_). D'Jok could feel the deadly pressure against the body he was still holding, its bones cracking, the energy of the Breath channeling right through it as a black cloud emerged out of nothingness, consuming everything. Suffocating him. Suddenly he was overwhelmed with a devastating force of gravity, sucking him inside. He didn't have the air to scream.

A mass of Smog obscured them completely only to vanish in the thin air as quickly as it appeared.

D'Jok was bent over, gasping desperately and holding his knees for support. Mark was on the ground next to him, crouched and breathless. The Snow Kids capitan regained his composure and looked around for what was left of the other two players.

Everyone was staring at him questioningly. Oh right, _great_. Sinedd, _that douche_, had used the Smog to teleport himself and somehow managed to pull Rocket with him (was that even possible?). The capitan scanned the field, expecting the idiots jump out of nowhere any second now. Everyone did. But not a sound broke the silence, save for the gentle humming of the penalty containers helplessly hovering above the pitch. D'Jok, his fellow players, the entire Akillian Stadium were waiting for Sinedd and Rocket to reappear. As seconds passed into a minute their anticipation morphed into unrest. The redhead looked at the screen checking the time- something was wrong, this was taking _way_ too long. His eyes wandered through the installation that held the holo-boards hoping that he would see them trashing each other behind one of the screens. But no one was there. Maybe they had teleported under the pitch and fell deep into the tentacles of wires and cables?

He swallowed hard. That would be _messy_.

"You don't think they…" Mark trailed off, finishing the sentence with a hand gesture. D'Jok choose not to recognize it.

But by the look of Mark's face he could tell his friend was considering the same options he was. He checked the time again. _Over six minutes_. This was getting ridiculous, you can't just vanish like that, they had to have appeared somewhere. In his mike he could hear Aarch panicking in the control room. They were nowhere to be found. Somebody grabbed his arm and he turned around to see Tia. Her emerald eyes looked haunted and a dark bruise was already forming on her red, swollen cheek (had Rocket done that when he launched himself at Sinedd?). The girl opened her mouth to speak-

_**BLAST.**_

Mei and Fulmugus gave in union an equally high-pitched shriek as a haze of black smoke ploughed hard into the pitch right next to them knocking the Shadows capitan off balance. The Smog split in two masses recoiling in opposite directions.

"It's them!"

"Rocket's hurt!"

"Screw those penalty pods, get the medics down here!" Nihlis shouted at the mechanical referee.

Rocket's form was motionless. The rest of the team was already gathering around him. D'Jok didn't want to look at him, he didn't want to see how does a face look like after receiving a 80/mph-fast kick. Tia's hysterical sobs already gave him the general idea of it.

Sinedd on the other hand seemed pretty much awake, struggling to get up, then failing miserably and trying again. His hands were shaking, unable to support his weigh as he coughed madly gasping for air. Just like Rocket had imagined it. The striker's short breath and pain contorting his face reminded D'Jok grimly of their _duel_; of the panic he saw in those violet eyes and the hollow sound of his voice repeating itself like a broken record. He hated Sinedd for letting him see his rival in such state.

Mei was the first to be at his side (because she was standing the closest to him, D'Jok told himself, save for Fulmugus, who was just standing there dumbfounded). She kneeled beside the thrashing player trying to recline him into a recovery position. D'Jok joined her at the double just in time to grab a black clad hand on its way to her pretty jaw. He knew firsthand just how _hard_ Sinedd can hit in such catatonic state. He didn't want to let his girlfriend end up with a battered face like Rocket did.

"Calm down you idiot, you're hurting yourself!" she bent further to help D'Jok hold him still only to get Nihlis ram her elbow into Mei's side, shoving her roughly aside.

"Outta the way, skank!" hissed the Shadowian female as she helped the redhead get a hold of her injured teammate, who was slowly starting to drift into unconsciousness.

"Hey!" Mei yelped falling ungracefully on her bottom. She gave the other girl an evil eye and with her good eye she noticed that the medical hoverbot had already collected Rocket's limp body. Sinedd was taken quickly after him. She rubbed her sore side. Stupid Nihlis, _she's_ the skank. She could already hear her yelling abuse at Fulmugus.

"Thanks for your help, Capitan Useless!"

Yep, she hated her.

Mei turned her attention to the floor and twisted her mouth with disgust. In this somewhat artificial, overtaken by advanced technology and sterile world there was little room for blood. And there was quite a big puddle where Rocket had lain. And there was also Tia, with D'Jok at her side (he was quick to get there, wasn't he?), as well as the rest of the Snow Kids. Aarch announced through the mike that they shouldn't worry, that Rocket's condition wasn't as bad as it looked. He didn't say anything about Sinedd though, Mei noted. Not that she really cared that much. With the excitement slowly quenching she was already feeling annoyed. What a mess, Rocket's such an idiot. Poor Tia. This was going to be post-Netherball all over again with Tia whining and Mei comforting her. And atop of that, Mei's side _really hurt._

She made her way over to her team, careful not to step in the messy paint job Sinedd had coughed out. Avoiding the blood she did step on something; on the glassy surface of the pitch she felt something… _gritty_ under her foot.

"What the…" she frowned. From where the boys had reappeared to where Sinedd had fallen a thin trail of dark sand glittered boldly in the intense lights. An alien smell invaded her nostrils. She leaned closer to the ground, trying to examine it more closely.

"Ash?" Just as she reached for the substance one of the cleaning bots swiped right in front of her, collecting all dirt on its path. Mei shrugged off what she noticed on the ground and went over to the other Snow Kids. I less than a minute the field was clean once again, as if nothing other than football ever happened there; the only trace of the punch-up and the blood was left in the minds of the people.

Although everyone felt they'd rather hug a cyclopean porcupine, when the substitutes arrived on the pitch, they resumed playing.

* * *

**End.**

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A/N: I'm not going to comment on how damn long it took me to update or how damn little happens in this chapter considering how damn long it is. I just wanted to thank all you nice people who reviewed, send me PMs and stalked me on other websites. God bless you with kittens and please forgive me my bad grammar, spelling mistakes and overly long, boring sentences.

Oh, and I don't own GF.


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